Most bedridden patients require assistance in having a bowel movement and the bedridden patient, whether in the hospital, a nursing home or home, commonly experiences an assault on his dignity as well as a loss of privacy during the operation.
The most common method of managing a bowel movement is through use of a bed pan. The bed pan is positioned on the bed and assistance is usually required in getting the patient properly positioned on the bed pan. The patient normally holds onto the side rails of the bed and stretches his legs outwardly when positioned on the bed pan. Balance is difficult, and the sitting position employed with a bed pan compresses the buttocks interfering with the usual anal muscle function.
If assistants are present, the patient can be helped or lifted from the bed and positioned on a bedside commode. This requires considerable assistance in moving the patient from the bed to the commode and returning the patient to the bed. In place of manual assistance, canvas slings are frequently used with hydraulic lifts and davits to raise the patient out of the bed, swing the patient through the air and lower the patient onto the bedside commode. However, this process requires a substantial period of time, generally from 5-10 minutes and may not be fast enough to prevent soiling of the bed, the sling or other equipment.